Recently offered Maryland DL commit sees plenty to like on South Carolina visit

Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin Brian Harris has been committed to Maryland since last August but that hasn’t stopped South Carolina and others from continuing to recruit the three-star class of 2026 defensive line prospect.

The Gamecocks offered Harris last week and quickly made a move to get him on campus for Saturday’s junior day event.

“My experience at South Carolina’s junior day was incredible,” Harris told GamecockCentral. “The fan base really stood out, they’re passionate and supportive, which shows how much the program means to them. The coaching staff also left a big impression on me. They’re not just focused on developing players on the field but also helping them grow as people off the field, and that really aligns with what I value in a program.”

Harris, ranked by On3 as the No. 50 interior defensive line prospect in the country, provided further detail about the visit.

“We got to see what every coach is all about and I got to spend a lot of time with the coach who recruited me and my position coach,” Harris said. We got to watch the boys’ basketball game, which was exciting. I got to talk to a lot of the other recruits during the vist, not to mention got to get a picture with one of if not the best pass rusher in college football right now (Dylan Stewart). I watch A LOT of his film when I’m trying to work on my pass rush. And best believe I asked a whole lot of questions when I was there. I’ll definitely be back for their spring game.”

ALSO SEE: More recruit reactions from South Carolina Junior Day

The 6-foot-3, 280-pounder is being recruited to Columbia by defensive line coach Travian Robertson. The event gave him the opportunity to get to know both Robertson and head coach Shane Beamer.

“First I’ll talk about Coach Beamer, I think he’s an extraordinary coach and I believe in his dream, and I believe that he has an amazing coach staff behind him, one of them being Coach Robertson,” Harris said. “The thing about him is that he is very direct and straight to the point which I appreciated especially in my position coach. He explained to me if I did come to USC that I would have the opportunity to make an immediate impact on the program as a freshman, which it is always good to hear that a program doesn’t care if you’re a freshman or a transfer, if you can ball then you can play.”

Harris added that meeting special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis and Director of Character and Player Development Derrick Moore was another highlight of the visit.

“Coach DeCamillis just has so much experience and wisdom especially from the league. I definitely took a lot of mental notes talking to him,” Harris said. “And I knew when I met Coach Moore that we were going to get along just fine. He reminds me of my grandfather just with the way he speaks, everything just very intentional and every word had passion, it would be impossible to doze off in his meeting, and he really showed me how he could develop fine boys to great men and fathers.”

N.C. State and West Virginia also recently offered Harris, who next plans to be in Columbia for the Gamecocks’ spring game on April 18.

The three-star prospect is ranked the No. 691 overall prospect and No. 63 DL in the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average of the four major recruiting media sites.

Discuss South Carolina football on The Insiders Forum!

The post Recently offered Maryland DL commit sees plenty to like on South Carolina visit appeared first on On3.